Caged
by Stars in the Black
Summary: Life as a Bijuu can be difficult, especially when you are trapped in a cage inside of an infant.


**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto. I am thankful for the opportunity to borrow the characters for a bit lighthearted fun. Please do not copy or reproduce this story in any form or fashion.**

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Day 1:

Small. Everything was small.

That was Kurama's first thoughts after finally regaining control of himself after that teme, Uchiha Madara, trapped him in that damnable genjutsu and forced him to attack Konoha. He'd always hated that stupid clan anyway and Madara was definitely the worst of the lot.

'Obviously sealed again,' Kurama thought with a pained sigh, his head still throbbing from that blasted sharingan and his body battered by the numerous jutus of the puny humans.

'This cage is smaller, much smaller than the others of the past. Why would... A baby?! Namikaze Minato sealed me in a baby!' Kurama seethed at the injustice, clearly Kami once again had come back to bite him in the ass.

Sure, he had been luckier than some of his siblings, the other Bijuu, when it came to their Jinchuuriki, but no one had ever been sealed in someone this young. The infant's chakra coils could, theoretically, adapt to his demonic chakra better than any adolescent or adult, but since Jinchuuriki were typically pariahs of their villages, this might not end well. Or even get a chance to begin, if Kurama was totally honest with himself.

Mito, his first cage, had been a woman, married and well respected in Konoha as the wife of the Shodai Hokage, well before he was sealed inside her. She had been quiet and even-tempered, yet fiercely strong, especially when protecting her family and village. She had been so strong that she had sealed him with herself, all while dealing with an epic battle between her husband and the teme, Uchiha Madara.

Kurama could respect those qualities since he too had been looked to as a leader by his siblings when they were still free to roam the world. She had even managed to calm Kurama of his fiercest anger and gave him a bit of a reason to respect certain humans.

Of course, Mito never truly interacted with him, but it was the manner in which she faced her life, that gave Kurama insight into humans in general. Most of his realizations about humans were not good, but he did discover that Mito was one of the rare "good" ones.

Kushina, his second cage, had been entering the humans' Shinobi Academy when he had been sealed into her. While she was very different in temperament from Mito, Kurama eventually grew to a grudging respect for the "Red-Hot Blooded Habanero" as the human children nicknamed his cage.

She fought hard, yelled loud, and more importantly in Kurama's eyes, backed up every threat, promise, and insult with action. It was through Kushina that he understood the suffering that the Jinchuuriki faced from the villagers they were supposed to protect. He felt the girl's tears from the taunts of her classmates and her joy from finding her true mate, Namikaze Minato, and finally making a few real friends.

She would occasionally "come inside the seal," but her seal did not allow the same levels of interaction between bijuu and Jinchuuriki that Kurama hoped would be a key feature in his new sealing. Life would be much easier for both of them that way.

Kurama hated to admit it, but he knew he would miss her as his Jinchuuriki and that wasn't just because he would have to wait years for his new one to even learn the basic shinobi skills, let alone how to handle basic hygiene. Her temper and talent were standouts in Konoha and this new kit would be hard pressed to do better than her. Still, his sealing allowed him to regain control of his mind from the Uchiha teme and had stopped the rampage that he was forced to commit against the village.

Kurama sighed as he surveyed his tiny cage inside the newborn child. Namikaze was an expert seal master, having been taught by the Sannin, Jiraiya, as well as being a prodigy of seals in the first seal was more advanced than any other he had ever been sealed in or dealt with in the human world. It would clearly work a little differently and only time and a decent look at the seal, would tell what he could do within his new cage.

While the Namikaze had not directly applied Kushina's seal since he was just entering the humans' Shinobi Academy, he had examined it closely throughout his life. This seal on his new cage was even better than Kushina's seal, and would allow the Jinchuuriki child to one day wield most of Kurama's power after intense training.

This whole development, as Kushina often said, bites worse than an Inuzuka. Nasty lot of humans and dogs, in Kurama's opinion, always sniffing each other. They had no dignity.

It's clear that right now, Kurama's abilities and influence will be greatly diminished until his new cage grows into a more physically and mentally fit human, as much as humans can ever grow, of course.

Currently, Kurama can only "see" the world through the child's eyes. He can hear what the child does and share in the child's thoughts, such as any infants ever are, but right now that skill is wasted. Interactions with his cage would be useless as the child would not understand him.

From the child's perspective, Kurama can tell that they are currently laying on a hard surface, stone perhaps based on his fuzzy memories from before his re-sealing. They are wrapped in some cloth, but clearly this is not going to be enough if they end up laying here for a while.

Namikaze Minato and Kushina lay on the floor nearby, bloody and obviously dead. Based on their injuries, it's obvious that Kurama mortally wounded them before he was sealed. Kurama can't help but feel sorry for their deaths. They had been decent humans compared to the many other temes that existed.

Kushina had been a decent cage, but suffered from the other humans for her association with a demon. Minato was the first person to accept her, and in a roundabout way, Kurama himself. Neither had deserved their end to be dealt at this time in their lives. Clearly this new cage was their kit. Hopefully it got some of their power and intelligence, maybe some of Kushina's fire too, if he was really lucky.

The other humans that began to arrive are clearly upset about Minato and Kushina's death. They also appear nervous about the newborn kit too. The old Hokage who spends time with Minato most of the time, Sarutobi, finally is able to gain control of the situation when he arrives and takes the kit from all the Anbu swarming around.

I'm pretty sure he said the kit is named Naruto...

Only Kushina and Minato would ever name their kit something crazy that means Fishcake.

Though, it also means Maelstrom... We will go with that version of the name, so that when stories are told about his greatness, he won't sound like tasty ramen treats.


End file.
